The Impact of Shipping on

the Marine Environment

An Orientation into Satellite AIS

An e-book from

exactEarth is a strong supporter of work being carried out by various

Research and Academic Institutions into the Ocean environment and are
keen to widen its use and further promote the use of our data to aid in
these studies. As a result, we are now offering substantial incentives for
Research and Academic Institutions wishing to take advantage of our data
for research purposes.

Understanding the Worlds Shipping

As a leading player in maritime related research, you will be acutely aware
of the importance of understanding the impact of shipping on the marine
environment. Whether you are studying environmental protection issues,
the impact of shipping on marine wildlife, wishing to analyse the movement
of goods and people across the international oceans, or examining ways to
improve methods of ensuring safety at sea, a comprehensive understanding
of the worlds shipping is a vitally important component of all maritime
related research and study.

Satellite AIS
AIS (Automatic Identification System) was designed primarily as a collision
avoidance system for large class vessels. Since 2004, the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) has required AIS transponders be on-board all
vessels that exceed 300 gross tons, and passenger ships irrespective of size.
AIS technology is also increasingly being deployed on smaller vessels as
well as Aids-To-Navigation (AtoN) and Search and Rescue (SAR)
transponders.
AIS is a radio frequency-based communications system that constantly
transmits position information and tracks vessels through the use of AIS
transponders on board the ships. While AIS has been deployed successfully,
it suffers from a major limitation in that, due to the curvature of the Earth,
its range is limited to approximately 50 nautical miles. With maritime
agencies wishing to gain greater visibility into vessel traffic over a broader
area to enhance their operational effectiveness, a different system was
needed. exactEarth believes the solution lies in collecting AIS transmissions
from space.
Satellite AIS (S-AIS) is comprised of low
Earth orbiting satellites that detect AIS
messages, this system eliminates the
limitation of the horizons and increases
coverage over the globe, enhancing the
original AIS system. S-AIS provides a
continuous global view of the worlds
shipping even in the most remote
regions.

exactAIS
exactAIS, the Satellite AIS data service
from exactEarth, provides a global
capability for monitoring all AIS-equipped
vessels using the exactEarth satellite
constellation and global network of ground
stations. exactAIS streams the data
securely, quickly, and continuously. This
real-time data enables the monitoring of
vessel traffic in any area of the ocean.
The exactEarth constellation of satellites
and patented advanced signal processing
provides the highest quality vessel
detection capability currently available.
The exactAIS System utilises a patented decollision algorithm which
extracts the maximum number of AIS messages possible, even in very
crowded areas, providing the user with an unprecedented level of
performance.
exactEarth is the leading supplier of global vessel data for maritime
domain awareness solutions and delivers up-to-date information on all
maritime vessels worldwide carrying standard AIS transponders.
Unlike other Satellite AIS providers, exactEarth provides a full range of
services to enhance the value of exactAIS, such as in-house expert
software teams, customised information feeds, global sales and support
organisation, and 24/7 monitored Operations Centre.

exactAIS Archive
exactEarth has been collecting operational AIS data from the exactAIS
service dating back to July 5, 2010. All of this data is available to
customers up to 30 days prior to the current date.
The Archive currently contains a 4-year historical record of all global
shipping activity. This includes over 3 billion vessel position reports. This
figure is growing daily as we monitor over 110,000 commercial ships daily
worldwide.
exactEarth provides flexible access to the Archive as historical data can be
extracted using a wide selection of criteria including:

Date and Time Range

AIS Message Types

Ship Type

Geographic Area

Ship MMSI List

Country of Registry

The exactAIS Archive represents the most complete record of vessel

movements on a global scale available today. With access to this Archive,
Research and Academic Institutions can exploit the rich exactAIS dataset to
gain improved historical insight and knowledge for their maritime area of
interest.
The Archive data allows for study into a number of scenarios and
situations, including the following and more;

Impact of shipping on marine wildlife

Looking into ship tracks entering into specific zones of study

Gaining a comprehensive look into fishing vessels in a specific area of

interest over a certain timeframe

Studying environmental protection issues

Analysing the movement of goods and people across the oceans

Analysing shipping lanes and traffic patterns

exactAIS Arctic Archive

Shipping in the Arctic region is on the increase as the sea ice retreats
further each year and the region opens up to industrial development.
The retreating ice opens up the Canadian Northwest Passage and the
Russian Northern Sea Route to regular commercial vessel traffic, which
could have the largest impact on shipping in the region.
exactEarth offers a pre-packaged data product that contains summary
datasets providing complete coverage of all maritime traffic activity in
the Arctic for the summer months of 2010-2013.
The exactAIS Arctic Archive provides greater insight into shipping
activities in the Arctic Region during the summer months. This provides
complete coverage of all Arctic shipping giving an unparalleled view into
the worlds most remote region.

Applications of Satellite AIS

While S-AIS technology is extremely beneficial in detecting and tracking
ships, the applications of this live or historical data is quite extensive.
The exactAIS data service and Archive allows Research and Academic
Organizations to monitor and study global shipping trends through
density maps, as well as study the environmental impacts that increased
levels of shipping is having on our oceans.
With the use of exactAIS live and/or Archive data, monitoring and
analysing human activity on the ocean has never been easier. The data
allows users to

Analyse fishing vessel behaviour over a period of time

Analyse and monitor vessel traffic through and near Marine

Protected Areas (MPAs) or environmentally sensitive areas

Look at shipping traffic patterns around oil rigs

Analyse shipping lanes to improve zoning

Study vessel behaviour around high risk piracy zones

Study the increase in vessel traffic through the Arctic region as the
climate changes

Research marine mammals in areas of high vessel traffic

Environmental Impact
Satellite AIS is very beneficial for research on the environment and
the impact that vessel traffic has on a variety of aspects of the oceans.
Many organisations have previously used exactEarth data for case
studies on the environmental impact of shipping and fishing.
Some of the organisations and institutions include: The Finnish
Meteorological Institute, Dalhousie University, ScanEx, Environmental
Justice Foundation and more.
On the next page is a case study done by The Environmental Justice
Foundation (EJF) on using Satellite AIS from exactEarth for monitoring
marine protected areas. EJF regularly monitors fishing vessel activities
in West Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone, Gabon and Ghana, which
are quite vulnerable to illegal fishing . EJF is a UK-based environmental
organisation working to address Illegal Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) in West Africa and promote transparency and traceability in the
fishery sector at the global level.

Case Study
Using Satellite AIS to Help Combat Illegal Fishing
IUU vessels can usually be found in areas populated with legitimate fishing
vessels, and are often around a mothership for transshipment. Knowing this
tendency, as well as other fishing patterns in this area, EJF can use S-AIS data
to quickly identify vessels engaging in questionable activity. One such recent
example of this is the case of two vessels off the coast of Sierra Leone.
On September 18, 2013, exactAIS data placed the vessel Kum Woong 101
inside an Inshore Exclusion Zone of Sierra Leone, off Turtle Island. Industrial
vessels are banned from operating in this area. Already alerted to the Kum
Woong 101s entering into a protected area, authorities then tracked the
vessel, which subsequently made a trip to a refrigerated cargo ship. As the
exactAIS data placed the two vessels within 50 meters of each other, and
showed they were in a stationary position with no other fishing vessels
approaching, the EJF suspected there was transshipment between these two
vessels on September 20, 2013. EJF investigators acted on their suspicions
the following day. They spoke to the Holland Klippers captain and confirmed
that 4,385 cartons of cargo had been transshipped from Kum Woong 101 .

exactAIS track of
the Kum Woong
101 going to
meet the Holland
Klipper.

Track of the Kum Woong 101 in waters Off Turtle Islands and Sherbro Island from September 18-19

EJF investigators used S-AIS data to document the transshipment, and then
called the Captain of the vessel on a satellite phone to confirm the illegal
activity surrounding the Kum Woong 101 and the Holland Kipper.
The EJF was then able to take immediate action issuing Illegal, Unreported
and Unregulated (IUU) Alerts, acting towards its goal of appropriately
sanctioning illegal fishing activities on the basis of strong evidence,
evidence that exactAIS data was able to provide.
To learn more about how Satellite AIS data can assist in the protection of
the marine environment, download our Monitoring Marine Protected
Areas E-book here.

Conclusion
A comprehensive understanding of the worlds shipping is a vitally
important component of all maritime related research and study.
Satellite AIS is used to capture all AIS messages transmitted from AIS
transponders onboard ships and solves the issue of the 50 nautical
mile limitation that terrestrial AIS faces. The exactAIS data service from
exactEarth is the most comprehensive vessel tracking data which
enables the monitoring of vessel traffic in all areas of the ocean,
including the remote Arctic region.
With four years of historical records of all global shipping activity,
exactEarth data represents the most complete record of vessel
movement on a global scale. Access to this data gives research
institutes detailed insight and knowledge into the maritime and assists
in research for an assortment of topics and studies.
Density maps are a practical and efficient use of the Archive data,
showing general vessel traffic patterns in the ocean, these maps help
understand a specific area and see where the majority of traffic is
within the area of interest making them a great option when analysing
historical data patterns.
Researching and analysing the impact of vessel traffic on the oceans is
made easy with the use of Satellite AIS data

Take advantage of this exclusive offer

available to Research and Academic
Institutions
Click here for exactAIS
Archive Quote
Contact us directly at info@exactearth.com or call us at
+1 519-622-4445